Saying Goodbye, Saying Good Morning
by Raikiriblitz
Summary: A lone man journeys to Konoha to say goodbye to his friends one last time. And to talk to the one person he knew, but never met. (Minor Swearing. Mentions of alcohol abuse, if you could call it that. I might be over reacting. But better safe than sorry.)


Saying Goodbye, Saying Good Morning

Summary: A lone man journeys to Konoha to say goodbye to his friends one last time. And to talk to the one person he knew, but never met.

 **I do not own** ** _Naruto._** **The series belongs to their rightful owners.**

 **Author's Note:**

 **Before I start this, understand I haven't read Gaiden. And as such, I've got no clue as to what happened in that story. I know Sarada meets her father for the first time, but that's about it. I don't know if Sasuke returned to Konohagakure to be with his family (like any good father should do. But even Naruto isn't far off from what I've read in Chapter 700) so this story is A.U., and I will not be taking Gaiden into consideration.**

 **I should have incorporated it into the story, but after Chapter 700 was posted I was done reading Naruto (never saw The Last. Don't want to either.) I didn't want to read or watch anything past that mark, nor do I intend to in the future.**

The day was like any other for the robed man. It was hot in the Land of Fire. This was the norm, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't gotten used to it. For sixty years he had been on the road for a journey. He's had partners for sure. His team members used to accompany him. But as the years went by, they just stopped. Two of them left a decade before, looking to settle down and actually enjoy their lives for once. Another fell in love with a man and left for him, and was happily married.

But there were two others, though he hadn't seen either in ages that he was very close to. That didn't mean he wasn't in contact, as he was making his way to see them one last time at that very moment.

He walked with a heavy gait, his right hand holding onto a walking cane, no doubt letting it support his weight and that of his backpack. A hood covered his head, colored gray like the rest of his tattered robes. A sleeve on his left side was knotted, signifying the loss of a limb. The man had clearly seen many things.

In the distance, he heard honking, which made him cringe at the fact that his home had changed so much from when he last stepped foot in it. In another five minutes, he came across the oldest gate of Konohagakure. The last one standing from his time. The one he had made his goodbyes all those years ago. The last time he ever saw his closest friends.

He crossed the gate, and heard someone call out to him, to which he remained still.

"I need to see identification before you enter here sir. We've been having problems with rogues running amuck, seeing they were the reason we have lost our beloved Kage and his wife." The guard went to stand in front of him, an assault rifle strapped to his back, ready to be used.

The man eyed the gun before he handed his cane to him as he reached for his papers in a back pocket. The guard stood there.

"Are you some nomad wandering around these parts?" The man shook his head and handed the guard the papers.

"Visiting old friends. It's been awhile since I've been home." The guard continued to read the papers.

"Everything seems to be …" pausing in mid-sentence, the guard looked between the man and the papers. Beneath the hood, the man scowled.

"Try to keep that quiet. I'm just visiting a few friends." The man snatched the papers from the guard's hand and his cane, started to walk once more. The guard was left dumbfounded.

The old man continued on his path, watching the people around him live.

Civilians crowded the streets buying the latest merchandise. But the man looked towards the shadows, spying the slightest hint of movement coming from there.

He could see them easily. The power of his eyes gave him that much. They watched him with unease, hands by their own guns, or even their tantos. This caused him to smile.

 _Blending of the times. I'll give her that._ He thought.

Eventually he came across a lone building that was stood out from the large mass below. That was where he needed to go. And so he did. Climbing the steps to the top, albeit at a slow rate. He had learned to maintain pace. That was more than he could say for his best friend.

At the top of the steps, he found what he was looking for.

The funeral.

People in black stood before two coffins. Two lone pictures, one of a man with pale yellow hair and blue eyes, but a grin that was infectious; and one of a pale pink haired woman, with green eyes, and a smile matched by her own beauty. The man walked off to the side, and leaned against the wall, easing his back and arm. Some people spared him a glance, though the man looked solely at the coffins.

And there he stood for hours on end. Nobody dared approach him, and eventually was left by himself to watch over the two. When that time came, he approached them and kneeled before the two, bowing his head in respect.

"And so here you are." He said. "Together in the afterlife, I can only hope that your suffering had ended. I'm sad to see you go, but for the people you loved, you two risked it all. I'll be honest my friends, I wish I possessed the same commitment as you had. But even now, I know not if my journey is finished. Perhaps it never will be. For that I apologize to you, Sakura." His head turned to the coffin that held the deceased woman.

"I'm sorry that I could not love you enough to stay here. But I'm grateful that you moved on. And helped out the idiot over here." His gaze turned over to the other coffin. He let out a chuckle.

"Funny. All these years you chased after me. And now I'm the one who came back to you. On my own free will. At least we didn't have to fight again, Naruto." The man returned to his silence and remained there. Looking between the two.

Hours later, a disturbance stirred the man from his meditation.

"So you came back after all these years." The man turned his gaze behind him. There stood a tall woman with black hair, glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, a long black cloak draped over her shoulders. In her hand was a bottle of spirits.

"Drowning your sorrows in alcohol? I thought better of you." The man said as he stood up. The woman shrugged, and walked forward, staggering slightly as she joined him by the coffins. He watched her in observation, chuckling. She gave him a raised eyebrow.

"From what Dad told me, you weren't easily amused by such things." She said as she kneeled where the man was. Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Dad? You actually considered him-"

"Better than you ever were!" she snapped back to him, giving him a glare that silenced him. It reminded him of her mother. He sighed.

"So what exactly happened? With Naruto and your mother?" The woman looked at the man longer before taking another swig of her drink.

"That stupid revolution devised by the anarchists. The same guys who killed Dad's first wife and two kids. Drove him into depression." The man nodded.

"They were after Dad's DNA. The last Uzumaki to walk the Earth they said. But Dad wouldn't let them have it. Neither would Mom, as she would take a blow for him to allow him to keep fighting off the intruders. The first time I had ever seen him truly angry. Angrier than when he lost his family all those years ago. He took them down with him. Died protecting the Village as they laid siege to us. We fought hard and drove them back, but we lost many great Shinobi."

"Surprised you're keeping them in service with the new weaponry." The man said as he sat down. The woman watched him.

"The rise of guns is not enough for me to deter from the Shinobi. I intend to stay true to our ways. It gives us an edge over the other Villages. Makes Konoha the last Village to employ such services."

"I wouldn't say that is the wisest choice, Sarada." The man said. Sarada glanced at the man, and sighed.

"That's the first time I heard you call me that name. Quite honestly, I'm annoyed after all these years. You show up, and now what? Finished your long journey and wish to retire."

"My journey for redemption will never be over." The man said as he bowed his head. "I can't see the world for what it is. A place of infinite possibilities."

"As you say." Sarada said as she took another swig. The man watched her.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked. Sarada nodded as she looked to him.

"Life without me. Life with Naruto in your life. Life that surrounded Naruto and your mother after our divorce. Life as the Hokage. What is it like?"

Sarada didn't answer right away, closing her eyes and exhaling as she put down the bottle, and placed her hands in her lap. The man watched her, waiting for a response. It could have taken an eternity, but the man was willing to wait until she was ready. Luckily for him, she was.

"Without you around, I admit that I held respect for you. Mom talked highly of you. Called you one of the best men she's known in her life. I went to bed every night dreaming that you would be home. Hoping when I would wake up, you would be there. To say good morning. But as the years went by, I lost respect for you. You never visited. And I never got any indication that you were alive. Only Mom's faith that you were.

"By the time I was eleven, I was focused on my duty as Genin. Dedicated to protecting the village as Mom had. And … the goal to find you and show you that your daughter was a damn good kunoichi. But that was when those rogues attacked, and killed Dad's family." Sarada looked to Naruto's coffin.

"We drove them back. But Naruto lost something precious to him. And he suffered in his depression. Drank all the time. Never got anything done. Shikamaru couldn't get through to him. Everybody that was around him felt bad, but at the same time they didn't want to be around him. So he was alone. The only company he had was Kurama. And there was only so much he could do." The man nodded.

"Then Mom." He simply said. She nodded.

"She got him back on his feet. Got him straightened out. She visited him every day. And he came over to us every day. He was back to the way he used to be. His bright smile had returned. And Mom was happier than she had been before." Sarada looked to the man before her. But he didn't stir.

"I think she might have fallen in love with him. And since you weren't around, I think it prompted her to … end the marriage with you. Though I'd argue Mom was and always is, love with you." The man nodded.

"I'm not saying she didn't. I will say I'm happy she found someone who could be a bright beacon for her than I ever will. And Naruto was the only person who could do that." Sarada reached for the bottle, but stopped a couple inches before retracting her hand.

"They got married about five years after you two divorced. Lived a happy life. They tried having a kid, but it was a miscarriage. Didn't try again. So Dad just had me and Mom. He ended up being my Sensei. Taught me everything he knew. The Rasengan. The Kage Bunshin. His Summoning Technique."

"You summon toads?" The man said with a raised eyebrow. Sarada chuckled, the first he had heard from her.

"That's what Mom said, but quite frankly, I think they were cuter than the slugs Mom was contracted to." Sarada leaned back and turned her head towards her mother's coffin.

"Mom taught me too; her Creation Rebirth technique that Lady Tsunade created. But Dad was the one who taught me to be Hokage. And when he stepped down, I was his choice. Caused a bit of controversy, but it passed like everything else. The daughter of an Uchiha taking the mantle of Hokage. But you wouldn't believe how happy I was that he gave it to me. All those years of training with him." She turned her attention back to Naruto's coffin, a fond smile on her face.

"Even though I wasn't his own, he called me his pride and joy. He picked me up when I was feeling down, knew how to make me laugh. And … I've always called Naruto 'Dad'. It felt appropriate since you weren't around." She looked to him.

"He talked about you too, ya know." The man nodded.

"Did he say how much of a dumbass I was?" Sarada laughed.

"For leaving the Village and being such a stick in the mud. But he always said that no matter what, he considered you family also. And all that he really was, is the happy go lucky Uncle that everybody likes, and that he wasn't that special." The man shook his head.

"But he is." Sarada nodded.

"He is a great man." The two sat in silence before the man got up and walked over to his bag, picking it up and his cane, and made his way to the door. As he opened it, the rays of sunlight peaked over the trees, reminding him of his old friend. The old man sighed.

"To you two, I say goodbye, and hope we meet in the afterlife." He looked back to Sarada, who still sat there.

"Sarada …" he called out. She didn't turn her head, but he knew she was listening.

"Good morning." Sarada looked back, and saw that he stood there, hood drawn back to see the face of her own father, a smile gracing his face. And just past him, she swore she saw the outlines of her mother and stepfather behind him, giving her that same smile her father gave.

 **Author's Note (again):**

 **This was an idea I've flirted with for a while. I wanted to incorporate a fight sequence, but I don't have the time needed to write it right now. So I stuck to an old fashioned one on one.**

 **To clear things up, as much as I dislike the pairing of SasuSaku and NaruHina, the fact is Sakura would never divorce Sasuke and I admit that. Likewise for Naruto. Both are in love with their respective partners (for whatever reason I cannot fathom). I like seeing Naruto and Sakura together as a pairing and I just wanted to write this short story about a 'what if'.**

 **If you enjoyed it, great! If not, sorry to disappoint.**

 **Until next time, see ya!**


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